Mashrafe-led Bangladesh team once again proved without any semblance of doubt that maturing tigers are climbing confidently along the challenging path of top league in cricket. With the ease and comfort they comprehensively overwhelmed a very strong South Africa in the second ODI amply demonstrates that if played to potential Bangladesh can win against any team in the ODI format of the game.
In recent time that have beaten Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Scotland, England, Pakistan, India and now South Africa. They are executing clinically like true professionals. If they play like this within two years Bangladesh may reach among the top 5 in world ranking. Professionals know how to deal with high and low, success and failures. They neither get over the moon in success nor do they go down the drain in failures.
But can we say that the cricket administration Bangladesh Cricket Board is also maturing alongside the team? Are they growing as professional cricket body? Or they are a group of raw amateurs? What made them behave childish?
BCB has a selection committee comprising of three ex Bangladesh National cricket captains (Farukh Ahmed, Minhazul Abedin and Habibul Bashar. The team has professional head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, Heath Streak, Ruwan Kalpage and other reputed coaching staff. Even the manager Khaled Mahmud was a captain of the national team. The team is led by one of the most enigmatic cricketer that Bangladesh ever produced. The team has some world-class performers.
Selectors select the squad and team management select the team. Unless things go very wrong, there cannot any reason for BCB superiors to interfere and intervene. Bangladesh lost two T20s and first ODI. Bowling and fielding was more or less OK. Batting was not up to full potential. Against a formidable team that can happen. But what created so much of panic that technical committee meeting were to be met on emergency? What made BCB president interfering and talking to media about bring three changes in the team? These days it is also heard very often that selectors’ role is regularly hijacked and they get a list of players to endorse only through SMS. If that is the case what is the point of having a selection committee? Why we should have expensive coaching staff and highly paid manager? Let BCB bosses and some counsel run the show exclusively.
Cricket players have made Bangladesh known to the world through their excellent performances. They have made Bangladesh proud. Bangladesh is getting bigger and brighter with every win of the tigers against major opposition. In which other area Bangladesh can boast of someone, who is top ranked all-rounder in all formats of a game? In which other sports one 19 years old teenager rocks the world in his debut? In which other case, a person with seven major surgeries in his legs commits 100% for the cause of the nation?
Cricket has inspired the can do attitude in the nation. Cricket is graduating from medium level to top level. They have already set a benchmark. Now entire cricket administration needs to grow professionalism, grow maturity.
BCB executives must consider themselves very lucky that many of their evil doings are remaining wrapped up for continued excellent performances of the cricket team. We do not say that there are no contributions of few in BCB. But some unscrupulous persons are also making hay while sun is shining.
We hope BCB executives will act in a more matured manner. The persons who are tasked with specific responsibilities must be given full freedom to work. At the same time, their works can come under well laid out monitoring and evaluation. But none should cross their battery limit and encroach in others territory. Bangladesh must take lessons from Australia, England and South Africa how the cricket administration is run properly .PCB and BCCI cannot be BCB role model.
Bangladesh has achieved significant success over the last 8-9 months. To create sustainability and consistency BCB must turn into a truly representative professional body. It must be made accountable and transparent for all actions and dealing. Otherwise, the present successes will be short lived and it will become business as usual in not too distant future.
Players and team are doing OK. Let only those who are in charge of team and team management look after them. There are no reasons of panicking. Let selection committee select the squad and team management select playing eleven. Keep the players exclusive dressing room free form access of unwarranted persons. Maintain restraints in talking loose to media off and on. These all create distractions and affect performance.
We are once again reminding an old saying, “Success has many fathers, and failures are orphans.” When sun shines on the team, many appear for getting mileage but they mostly go hiding during rainy days of the team.
BDST: 1152 HRS, JULY 13, 2015
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